From Which Light Shines
by Double Calibur
Summary: Standing on the edge of the underworld, looking at the abyss, I'm hoping for some miracle to break out and escape from all this. I think I'll go to sleep when it's all over...


"How's it feel?"

Red eyes flicked over to the golden being standing a few feet to his left, observing the radiant coat wrapped around him. Tiny bits of what he could only assume to be stardust, drifted off of his being, floating away and dissapating into the ether. Those same red eyes peered down, at his shoes.

A pair of hands encased in golden rings and black-cuffed, red tongued gloves brought themselves up in front, gazing at his palms, steadily shaking.

"It hurts." He said simply, although sounding no worse for wear to indicate such pain. Sonic couldn't control the hearty chuckle that escaped him. It was a deep, rumbling laugh that had burrowed its way out of his chest. Being unprepared for this sudden outcry of laughter caused Shadow to nearly-imperceptively jump in his skin.

"It'd be a lot worse without Knuckles and the Master Emerald. You should thank him when you can." Shadow rose an eyebrow in response. Sonic had come to learn in the very short time he'd known the black and red hedgehog, that he didn't ever talk unless he had to. Instead, he relied on people reading his expression. He could understand his short temper regarding anyone 'annoying' him.

"But hey, I dunno how your powers work, so maybe it'd be different for ya." Shadow's eyes turned to the space between them again, as if contemplating this new info.

"What was so funny?" Sonic ignored him. Instead, he brought his arms out, pushing a hand upon an elbow, cracking it to relieve the stiffness he'd gotten over the last few hours. Shadow hit like a truck. Sonic had to wonder if he was naturally that strong, or if it was because of something else. At least, that's what he guessed.

One green eye drifted to the corner, sneaking a glance at Shadow seemingly having an internal debate with himself, as he scanned the old hedgehog. Shadow wasn't exactly gold like Sonic was. He was a strange mix of platinum and whiteish gold. There was more silver in there then there was gold. Maybe the form one takes when they used the emeralds like he did depends on their state of mind?

"What're you gonna do after this?" Sonic blurted out, stretching his arms and legs in a practiced routine he'd been doing since he was a child. His casual dialogue as the Ark began slowly descending towards Mobius alarmed Shadow on a level he didn't think was possible.

There wasn't an immediate emergency just yet. The Ark was thousands of miles away, and had only just now began picking up speed. The longer they waited, the harder it would be to fight off the Final Hazard. Instead, Sonic's question echoed in his brain. It felt important to address this now? He supposed it wouldn't hurt to indulge in Sonic just this once. He had been trying to kill him for the last few days.

"I'd like to go back to sleep." Shadow had finally concluded, taking a few moments to really mull over what it was he wanted. Sonic's smile from before had faltered. He walked over to Shadow, planting a hand upon the brooding hedgehog's shoulder. Shadow, snapped out of whatever reverie he'd been experiencing, shot a glare at Sonic, sharpening his already angular eyes.

"Listen," Sonic began, his voice's cadence shifting ever-so-slightly. "I can't be entirely sure what happened to you fifty years ago, and I'm not going to insult you by pretending to know."  
Sonic's head turned towards the vast expanse of the final frontier in front of them. Both hedgehog's had been standing upon an observation dock primarily used for landing and departing spaceships.

The brilliant blue planet below, shone up, casting an iridescent glow over them. Their shining forms a beacon of light in the impending armageddon. The poetic irony wasn't lost on Sonic. This wasn't the first time he'd been this far in space, and he figured it wouldn't be the last if insane events like this kept up.

"But I do know that you don't seem like the same person. You're different than you were before." Shadow kept quiet as Sonic talked, letting this utterly _strange _hedgehog go on. He felt almost compelled to. He felt small. He felt a great many things, most of which he did not like one single bit. Most of all, he hated that Sonic was making more sense than he'd made up to this point.

Shadow could only guess it was because of Gerald's brainwashing manipulating Maria's final message into one of twisted, dark hatred for all living things. Was he finally back in reality?

"Shadows don't have to be evil, y'know." Shadow's eyes snapped up to Sonic, having drooped downward once more.  
"Maybe your name was a joke in being unable to like, make shadows, but you could look at it a different way."

Sonic's head turned toward Shadow, a wide smile tugging at the corner of his cheeks.

"It's the direction from where a light shines, right?"

Shadow could only blink dumbly, mouth hanging slightly agape. That kind of logic had hit Shadow like a ton of bricks. Yet, it was so incredibly simple, that it made a scary amount of sense.

"I liked you better when you were hating me." His own small, thin smile betrayed his words, shooting right back at Sonic, eyes softening just a little.

Sonic laughed again, taking his hand off Shadow's shoulder to instead sit at his hip. Green eyes drifted back to the planet below, slowly moving closer towards the Ark they stood on.

"You've shown me plenty of big things in such little time, Sonic... But it's my turn." Sonic half-turned back to Shadow, preparing to take off and commence the final battle against that giant abomination that had fused together with the space colony, but something in Shadow's own raspy voice stopped him. It was Sonic's turn to blink, silently asking what Shadow was going on about.

Shadow clenched a fist, a triumphant smirked playing itself on Shadow's own tan muzzle.

"Before this is over, I said I would show you the true power of Chaos Control, and I never break a promise."


End file.
